location, location, location

Good Evening.

I am blogging from a brand new spot. 

That's right.

885 East Drive is no longer the place I call home. I had a lot of mixed emotions about this moving experience and even started a blog post last week all about my feelings.

 But I have to be honest. This weekend, while we were moving out... I didn't feel sad. I just wanted it to be over (ie: moving sucks). Today I went over there to let Bella play in her backyard one more time, 

before it officially becomes the residence of a nice new family and I felt like I was in someone else's home (maybe because I basically was?)

. The house felt completely different empty. What made it our home, wasn't there anymore. 

It was the perfect first house for us. 

But we are on to new adventures.

That new adventure includes a move to....

(drumroll please)

Cartagena, Colombia

We are very excited for this next chapter. 

We have lots of questions and some curiosities about what this next chapter will truly look like. 

But most of all we are looking forward to being in this adventure together.

(please get your passports situated, as some visits are going to be necessary)

Hopefully I will be able to share some of those details and answers to my questions soon. It's a little chaotic preparing to move out of the country. Each time I take the time to think, I come up with another random question or an item to add to the to do list. 

And that to do list is currently staring me in the face, reminding me that I will need to deal with each individual item in the near future as well as those tasks that come to me in my sleep tonight. 

So, as they say in Colombia....

Buenos Noches

logging

"much like blogging.

but it involves, pen, paper, and Kathleen."

A weekend that has been highly anticipated for me has now passed.

The best friends a girl could ever ask for

graced the McQuinn's

with their presence. All the way from

Chicago, Illinois.

It was a perfect ending to our era at 885 East Drive.

We utilized every square inch of this home.

We danced.

Laughter resonated through the walls.

Bella was spoiled rotten with attention.

Every cupboard and drawer was opened as we prepared our

Sunday dinner.

We managed to utilize the bedrooms for some rest.

And I was happy. 

So while I again have that very regretful, "oh man, I wish I woulda taken more pictures"...

It's okay. Because I logged it...

away in my heart.

2006-2011 celebrated

Well, hello there.

In the midst of a pretty chaotic time 

(remember, house has sold and we still haven't the faintest about 

where we will lay our heads in a month) 

Matt and I had the opportunity to remember what its all about and how it started 5 years ago.

Some of the highlights from January 28, 2006 to January 28, 2011

(this is a microscopic view of the incredible amazing experiences and memories we have made the past half decade)


We felt like celebrating year 5 needed to be something special. A few months ago Matt and I began speaking about planning a trip to mark the occasion. While we travel quite often we realized it had been a while since we had taken a trip just for us. Matt came to me about a month ago with a few different destinations he was looking into, we discussed and in the end he informed me that he would be making the final decisions. So, now I get to tell you all about the amazing (long) weekend my husband and I had in....

WARNING. This post is going to have a lot of information. A lot. Mostly, because I want to remember all of it and this is a great way to do so. So, if you're not feeling it, I apologize, and will not be offended in the slightest if you just want to look at the pictures or want to skip it entirely (and it's not like I will ever know anyway, right?)


Thursday, January 27

Matt had filled me in the day before about our destination so I could pack accordingly. We landed in San Francisco and headed straight for Napa Valley.

 Let me sidetrack for a moment... 

I love the Bay area. Like want to move there. absolutely gorgeous. 

Matt had done quite a bit of research and we visited three wineries that were highly recomended and were new to us 

(our first trip to Napa was summer of 09 and we fell. in. love)

St. Supery

Really kind staff, some great wine, beautiful grounds...

but they have some seriously awesome artwork that they change with each vintage that I was loving.

On our way to the next destination, we stopped at the most adorable local market for a sandwich and other goodies. Another reason I want to live in Napa... the markets. I could make some amazing food with all those fresh deliciouso ingredients.

 And don't get me started on the cheese selection. 

We enjoyed our picnic lunch on the grounds at a winery... purrr.fection.

Grgich Hills

Here we enjoyed a little education from a former Texan. It was fun to discuss things that

 only a person familiar with SETX would understand. 

We definitely realized that visiting during the off season really allows you to learn and 

interact with the staff. We had another round of great tastings and left with some wine and some "chocolate covered wine"... 

imagine a chocolate covered cherry, take out the cherry and fill it with wine. 

Yep. AH-mazing.

We had some fantastic dinner reservations. Yes, had. I was reminded what 

marriage is really about.

 the good with the bad. 

in sickness and in health.

 Matt didn't feel so well and he tried to go to dinner, but we made a decision that if he couldn't really enjoy it, it wasn't worth it. So room service it was. But, the weekend was 

full of so many fabulous moments, we really don't have time to focus on the "not-so" ones.

Friday, January 28

Our Anniversary

We started our morning off with a fabulous breakfast at Boon Fly Cafe. 

One of the most adorable places I saw through the weekend. The food and coffee was fantastic and I want to decorate my kitchen like Boon Fly.

 And I could totally live in a barn,

if it was a chic as Boon Fly.

The rest of the weekend was full of surprises. 

My favorite wine is Cakebread. 

Matt and I have shared many special moments with a bottle 

(when we found out we had a contract on the house we opened a bottle of Cakebread Chardonnay Reserve).

 So, I was thrilled when Matt informed me that we had a food and wine pairing scheduled at Cakebread. If you have not ever had a bottle of Cakebread, 

I highly, recommend it. 

Their Chardonnay is on another level. 

The surprises kept coming as Matt had found a winery in which we had the opportunity to blend our own wines. 

Conn Creek

 offers an experience to learn about, taste, and blend wines from the various regions that make up Napa Valley. 

It was an absolutely amazing experience and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in wine and taking a trip to the Valley. 

The staff was so kind and helpful and it was both a fun and educational experience. 

Matt and I each have our own that we blended and bottled. 

We are looking forward to some celebratory moments in the future to taste each of our unique creations.

I know, I know, it's hard to believe, 

but the day got better at dinner. 

We ate at Bottega, a restaurant by Chef Michael Chiarello. 

Some of you may be familiar with Chef Michael from his show on Food Network, Top Chef Masters, or his retail store NapaStyle. 

It was amazing, the food, the ambiance, the service. 

What topped this dinner off was that handsome charming Italian chef... 

stopped by our table and complimented the lady at the table. 

The perfect ending to a perfect day.  

Saturday, January 29

The surprises were not yet over. Matt had yet another

 incredible day

 planned for us. We had plans to do a limo tour through some wineries in Napa. Accompanying us was 4 others. We had a great group, 

2 woman that were friends from college, and "co-workers". 

The tour took us to 4 different wineries 

(that's a lot for 1 day)

 but we thorougly enjoyed it and got to see parts of Napa we weren't 

familiar with while visiting both small and large wineries. 

Including:

 Rubicon Estate, a gorgeous winery that is owned by

 Francis Ford Coppola (yep, the guy who wrote & directed The Godfather is a wino). 

It was a beautiful estate, had great red wine, and had one heck of a "gift shop".

Bravante Vineyards, a smaller winery 

with beautiful views and fabulous wines. We had a great wine educator on this tour

 and we even had his dog accompany us on tour 

(can't you see Bella as a wine dog)

Frank Family, first thing I noticed here, pictures of Oprah. Apparently she is 

friends with the Franks and had a birthday party at the winery.

 Enough said.

Stags Leap, our final destination, has a connection to the movie Bottle Shock 

(movie recommendation) 

They also submitted a wine for the tasting in Paris. 

Chateau Montelena was the winner, 

which is a stop I intend to make on my next trip to Napa.

We finished our incredibly romantic and fabulous long weekend with dinner at Brix.

So, I have to say Thank You

to my best friend, 

the man who makes me smile,

laugh

and at times....

scream.

But there isn't a person I would rather be on this journey with.

And I know.

That I am.

I am.

The Luckiest.

Oh.

and check out the

 loot.

(if you are still with me, i promise not to make it so long next time. xoxo)